Räkä ja Roiskis

Two young boys travel up north to spend the winter holidays with their grandmother, but something is off in the town of Suuvesi (Mouthwash): people are grinning strangely, holes are disappearing, and the boys quickly run afoul of the oddball dentist Migrén Junior (Pekka Strang, expertly employing his penchant for weirdness). What is going on? And can two children fix the problem?

Based on the book series by famed Finnish singer Juice Leskinen, Räkä ja Roiskis (Snot and Splash), playing in the Locarno Kids Screenings section, is the latest work of the eclectic director Teemu Nikki. Whether it’s about loving a robot (Lovemilla), pet-centric action (Euthanizer), anti-bigotry satire (Nimby – Not In My Backyard) or cinephilia living on in spite of visual impairment (The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic), Nikki has proven to be able to swiftly move from one genre, tone or target audience (sometimes all three at once) to the next. For his fifth feature, he specifically chooses to pivot towards more kid-friendly territory, albeit with a sufficiently creepy undertone (mainly via Strang’s performance). The books may have been published in the early ‘90s, but the story feels very topical as Nikki smartly addresses environmental concerns within a structure and tone that places the viewer in the child’s shoes (hence the dentist being the scariest element, with a hilarious Kati Outinen as the aloof Migrén Senior), crafting an adventure that also has the added value of showcasing Finnish locations outside of the Helsinki region. Harkening back to TV staples like Doctor Who (the opening credits are somewhat reminiscent of at least one incarnation of the famed British show), the film is old-fashioned and timely at once, where thematic urgency goes hand in hand with humor based on bodily orifices (the conversation about sausages is particularly memorable for how it accurately conveys a younger perspective on certain issues). Nordic clichés get turned on their head as the winter night becomes the ideal backdrop for a tale that might not even have a moral at the end of the day (at least as far as the young protagonists are concerned), and while he may be hard to pin down, Teemu Nikki has shown once again that his eye for character work and visual playfulness can adapt to any scenario, winning over a new age group in the process.

Max Borg